Rebirth of the Yatagarasu
by smith at the city
Summary: The Yatagarasu has always been for a three member group. Kay Faraday has found the perfect members for her group: Fox, the mistress of espionage and Anglerfish, the expatriate master hacker of Australia. However, they took on more than they can chew when they find out that there first "easy" assignment has gone international as they but heads with Interpol's finest Lang Shi-Long!


A lone security guard walked through the halls with a flashlight lighting his way. He glanced at one of the paintings of the factory. A light flashed, catching his attention. He glanced at the source, rubbed his eyes and said," What the hell?" He felt too lazy to go and investigate yet he didn't want to go through another round of job hunting with his wife crawling up his ass about bills and such. He left his post.

Just as he did, a silhouette of a shadowy individual dropped down from the ceiling and landed lightly on the ground. The shawl-scarf was tied around the individual's body in such a way that grand movements could have them mistaken for wings.

"Fox, Anglerfish, Crow approaching carrion," said the individual, pressing her communicator close to her ear.

"Anglerfish here. Bait's come a-biting. Over."

"Focus, Anglerfish. Fox with the sheeps. Shepherd is at standby. Over."

Kay Faraday smiled. It was all going according to plan. She ran through the halls, lightfooted and sure, as she glanced at the doors she passed. They were of people she knew, people she didn't like and people who were ignorant, there was no one who had an office in the building she and her band of friends that she liked. She repeated the names of the people whose offices she planned to raid.

Gerald Wagner

Toby McMahon

Sheila Hilton

She said them in a mantra as if saying their names over and over would bring her closer to their offices as she spoke the words. The halls were silent and Kay could hear the subtle ticking of the clock as she continued her run. Finally, she came to the Sheila Hilton's office and quickly removed a hairpin from her ebony hair. Not a strand fell out of place as she also wore a hairnet, the hairpin was just for lockpicking purposes as her profession required her to always minimize the amount she could carry in case the booty was largely rewarding. She stuck the hairpin in, with a few turns to the left and then to the right, the doorknob clicked and Kay opened in and went in.

It was as she expected it to be. Sheila Hilton's office was clean, organized and … sterile. There was nothing in the office that gave room that gave any indication to life and it was just that, a beautiful and cold mausoleum. Though Kay had continued seeing this sort of offices, she couldn't help but always compare them to her father's. It was neat and clean just like Sheila's however, there were pictures of their family, a paperweight Kay had made for him from a stone decorated with art materials, and sometimes a note from her mother, his wife. Kay physically shook away the memories and began her search.

She leafed through files, papers, binders and organizers meticulously, making sure not a part of her was left behind that could be identified. She took out pages of what she needed from the files and then glanced at the computer as she opened it.

"Ok, Anglerfish. The bud is open. Over."

"Sending in the bees. Over."

Kay smiled as the password was entered and there was a green check that appeared on screen. She was in! Just like the files of the office, she did the same to the files in the computer as she stuck in an USB and pasted copied sensitive information.

"The leech has been fed. Make with the trail, Anglerfish. Over."

Kay saw the screen log edited by an invisible user and then shutdown. Any evidence in the computer was completely purged. She looked behind her, the photocopier innocently stood before her.

"Nature's at it again. Over."

Kay swallowed hard. There had been a change of plans in the security detail and Fox wasn't able to control it.

"Den?" Fox asked.

"The femme Aussie," replied Kay.

"Got it. Over."

"That sounds prejudiced. Over," protested Anglerfish, he still didn't like their codename.

She heard some people passing by the office. There was a silhouette of a man at the glass of Sheila's door.

The photocopier emitted a high-pitched sound to indicate that the copying was done. The man began to unlock the door faster.

A sound of a window shattering. A guard yelling as he chased after someone who had broken out. The man immediately ran to the noise.

Kay sighed in relief as a sound far away emitted the same noise of a photocopier. Then the door flew open and Kay stiffened as she hid behind a gargantuan potted plant.

"I don't see nothing here, Butch. I'm telling ya, you just head the other room," the security guard called out.

Kay let out another shaky sigh of relief. Without further delay, she took the duplicates of the files and place back the originals. She made sure all her tracks were clean and slipped out the window. She instantly flattened herself on the ledge under the window as she heard the door open again. There was a pause and then the door closed again. From the rooftop, Kay looked for the other two's office.

* * *

A man was alone in the Rue Kangaroo with a laptop. He just sat there without ordering anything except water, which was free as long as it came from tap. Despite the crowd of people waiting to be seated, no one had asked him to leave.

"Would you like anything, Mr. Bauchau?" a waitress asked, her red hair pulled back into a pony tail. The ends were pale white that gave the distinction of a fox's tail.

"Nah, Vicky. Still waiting for a couple of Sheilas to join me," he said with a wink, his Australian accent thick and heavy as maple syrup.

His eyes spied a girl with ebony hair held by a key and focused into her with spear-point intensity. She must have felt his gaze as she turned to return it with the same intensity. "Oi, Sheila, I've got a seats here."

Kay smiled and approached them but didn't seat down. "I don't drink with people I don't know and my name isn't Sheila."

"We call you dolls Sheila where I'm from. The name's Rowan Bauchau and this is my waitress Vicky."

"Hello," said Vicky demurely," I'd love to stay and chat but I'm working right now."

"The boss says stay even though you're a poser."

"But I don't work here," Vicky retorted smugly, still she sat down.

Kay smiled as she sat down also, she flashed her transparent diamond bracelet. "It's rather airy tonight, isn't it? It would be nice to have a late night walk out."

Vicky pulled out and toyed with the jade pendant of her necklace. "True, nothing beats walking in the park looking at plants and earth."

Rowan turned to examine another lady, flashing his blue aquamarine earring. "Nah, I suggest swimming in a pool. The water would be nice and cold in my place."

Another waitress, a REAL waitress this time, came punctually laying drinks for them. Rowan thanked her with a smile and then glanced back at Kay and Vicky.

"Finally," Kay said," another team to call Yatagarasu." She raised her glass and continued," For the innocents."

"For Justice," Rowan followed.

"For Truth," Vicky finished.

"Cheers!" They all shouted as they clinked their glasses together.

The Yatagarasu would once again take flight with three legs.


End file.
